Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. today announced that its Savannah Completions Center has incorporated 3-D projection technology into the process of designing and executing aircraft paint schemes, resulting in increased flexibility and enhanced design quality.

Gulfstream engineers helped design the software that projects a multi-dimensional paint scheme onto the aircraft, taking into account how the curved aircraft surface may distort the image. The process eliminates the 2-D design phase, allowing technicians to forego plotting the design on the aircraft using just a flat schematic.

"The addition of 3-D technology into our already state-of-the-art painting process provides a number of benefits for customers," said Scott Neal, senior vice president, Worldwide Sales & Marketing, Gulfstream. "With this software, designers can make design changes in real time with the touch of a button. They don't have to imagine how a flat drawing will look once applied to the curves of an aircraft. They get a rendering and can see exactly how everything will look in 3-D, ensuring they'll be satisfied with the finished product."

Additionally, the 3-D projection technology increases accuracy.

The software is based on Delta Sigma Co.'s ProjectionWorks, a commercial 3-D software program that was first used to display locations for rivets and other fasteners for aircraft manufacturing. Gulfstream engineers helped tailor the program for 3-D mapping of the aircraft's exterior. The software defines how every image needs to be shaped in order to reflect correctly on a three-dimensional surface.

“This system gives everyone involved in the painting process the same design picture,” Neal said. “It eliminates guess work and ensures we deliver the exact aircraft our customers envisioned.”